Oct. 10, 2012

Siddens/ Warner

Written by

Anthony Balbirnie

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A Springfield man arrested Monday in connection with the death of a Willard teen has been charged in Benton County with the abandonment of a corpse.

Anthony Balbirnie, 47, who is being held without bond in the Greene County Jail, was charged Sunday with the felony. Khighla Parks, 15, disappeared Sept. 20 after walking away from her grandparents’ home. Her body was found Sept. 30 in Truman Lake and was identified by DNA analysis.

The Dallas County Sheriffs Department is also asking for the public's assistance in locating two more “people of interest” in the homicide investigation of Khighla.

The sheriff’s office is looking for Desiree L. Siddens, age 24, and Larry L. Warner, age 39. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Dallas County Sheriff’s tips hotline at (417) 345-8207. Reports can be made anonymously.

According to Benton County court documents, a woman told investigators that she saw Balbirnie with a girl wearing clothes similar to what Khighla was wearing when her body was discovered.

The woman, who is in an intimate relationship with Balbirnie, that she saw him participate in “wrapping, binding and otherwide preparing” the body for transport at her home. Investigators have said Khighla was last seen at a residence in Buffalo.

Court documents said Balbirnie placed the body in the trunk of a car and left to drive to Warsaw about 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Sept. 21. Authorities redacted some elements of the charging document.

The charge did not appear on the Casenet court tracking system until today.

Balbirnie’s criminal history includes drug offenses in Greene and Christian counties, a forgery in Jackson County and unlawful use of a weapon in Dallas County, according to court documents.